Colleen Graffy says suicide is an act of PR
Today in the morning, three Guantanamo Bay inmates — two Saudis and a Yemeni — were found dead in their cells. They had committed suicide by hanging themselves with bedsheets.
If you are held in a solitary chainlink pen for years without trial or evidence, and with no hope of release, I imagine you would also think of taking your own life. In fact, I would guess that the only reason that no suicides have occurred earlier is diligence on the part of the guards.
So what dows Colleen Graffy, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy, tell journalists about the suicide? Perhaps she makes an apology. Maybe she has a word of condolence for the families of the prisoners. Maybe she tells about plans to improve conditions in the camp.
But no. Colleen Graffy tells journalists that the suicide was “good PR move to draw attention”. Perhaps the three men really were jihadis who didn’t value their lives. Or perhaps not. But one thing we do know for sure: Colleen Graffy, public face of the US Government, does not value the lives of Guantanamo inmates.
(On a side note, Rear Adm. Harry Harris, the commander of the Guantanamo Bay prison, described the event as “an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us”. But then, one hardly expects the warden of a brutal military prison to feel much compassion for fellow human beings.)